Moore files brief in Texas commandments case

Published: Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 9:16 a.m.

Ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to rely on "judicially fabricated tests" and permit a 6-foot Ten Commandments monument to remain on the grounds of the Texas Capitol, where it has been since 1961.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments March 2 in a lawsuit challenging the Texas monument and another involving framed copies of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky county courthouses.

Moore, expelled as chief justice for refusing to obey a federal judge's order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building, urged in a brief that the Supreme Court base its ruling on language in the U.S. and Texas constitutions, not on previous court rulings on the issue.

"The constitutionality of the Texas state capitol Ten Commandments monument should be decided according to the text of the Constitution, not judicially fabricated tests," the brief said.

It was filed by Moore's attorneys, Greg Jones and Benjamin DuPre, according to a statement Monday from Moore's spokeswoman.

Moore earlier filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of the Kentucky displays.

The cases mark the first time the Supreme Court has taken up the issue of public Ten Commandments displays since 1980.

In his unsuccessful fight to keep his Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama courthouse, Moore argued that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows for public acknowledgment of God, such as the display of Ten Commandments monuments. In his filing in the Texas case, Moore argues that the constitution never intended for public acknowledgment of God to be unconstitutional.

"It is time for this court to return to the bright-line test that is the very words of the First Amendment of the United States constitution," the brief says.

<p>Ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to rely on "judicially fabricated tests" and permit a 6-foot Ten Commandments monument to remain on the grounds of the Texas Capitol, where it has been since 1961.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments March 2 in a lawsuit challenging the Texas monument and another involving framed copies of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky county courthouses.</p><p>Moore, expelled as chief justice for refusing to obey a federal judge's order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building, urged in a brief that the Supreme Court base its ruling on language in the U.S. and Texas constitutions, not on previous court rulings on the issue.</p><p>"The constitutionality of the Texas state capitol Ten Commandments monument should be decided according to the text of the Constitution, not judicially fabricated tests," the brief said.</p><p>It was filed by Moore's attorneys, Greg Jones and Benjamin DuPre, according to a statement Monday from Moore's spokeswoman.</p><p>Moore earlier filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of the Kentucky displays.</p><p>The cases mark the first time the Supreme Court has taken up the issue of public Ten Commandments displays since 1980.</p><p>In his unsuccessful fight to keep his Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama courthouse, Moore argued that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows for public acknowledgment of God, such as the display of Ten Commandments monuments. In his filing in the Texas case, Moore argues that the constitution never intended for public acknowledgment of God to be unconstitutional.</p><p>"It is time for this court to return to the bright-line test that is the very words of the First Amendment of the United States constitution," the brief says.</p>